I know, it sounds crazy, but that’s what has happened with guitar too. My kid has been accompanied by pianists he’s never met, including one who is a renowned faculty member, and he has improvised with guitar teachers he didn’t know, including some with intimidating talent and careers. My guess is that professors are very aware of this situation, and some of them may be looking to see how adaptable a student is. The bright side is that all students are facing the same situation!
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While frustrating, this is fairly common. I’m assuming that your D has a private teacher that she can discuss/practice this with. It is a “skill”. My D has to use this skill in the real world. Being able to communicate clearly and quickly…and having your music marked correctly is expected in many places. On occasion, you can get a “bum” accompanist….but I’m thinking that the ones at Curtis are probably pretty good.
I hate to be the person who says “turn that frown upside down”…that’s so annoying! But I would have your D work with her private teacher on this…and use it as a learning experience. I’m pretty sure it will happen again and again and again.
Good luck. If she got an audition at Curtis, I’m guessing she’ll handle it fine.
Edit: maybe she’s not a vocalist…oops…so may not be relevant…still I hope that it works out.
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This is the standard with every vocal audition as well. Usually, the accompanist is very skilled and will follow your lead. It can be nerve-racking but it usually works out.
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Oops…maybe she’s not a vocalist…sorry if my reply is not relevant.
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My D(soprano) is feeling pretty excited. We had a great experience at Northwestern this weekend. What a music building - so impressive! Only one remaining audition at McGill this coming weekend and then it is done. I feel like the entire process from start to finish was 6 months long. Is anyone else ready to celebrate being done? PHEW!! 
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My D, a vocalist, has had this experience at most auditions. Occasionally they let you meet with the pianist to talk briefly, rehearsing together has been very rare. Mine is applying to grad school so she’s very used to this drill by now. It will become “normal”.
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Thanks everyone for the wisdom. My D plays viola and I’m used to setting up rehearsals with pianists. She knows this music so well I guess it should work. I’m probably more nervous than she is.
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If I recall correctly, @SweetStrings is the parent of a violist. Generally, classical instrumentalists have less experience with accompanied auditions without a rehearsal. So I sympathize with the concern of jumping in to something new. However, still great advice to practice this skill of leading with movement, breath and eye contact.
And know that the accompanists at Curtis will be top notch. And very likely they have all repertoire close to memorized. They will be watching and taking her lead. Hopefully she will get to enjoy performing in a beautiful hall and making lovely music together with her pianist. May it be yet another adventure!
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My daughter did not get a pianist run through at 4 out of 6 live auditions. It was fine! And at one where she did the vocal coach was offering suggestions so maybe not so great to get a longer run through either lol. 
ETA I missed this was about a string player but I suspect it is still common. My vocalist applying now actually has taken 12 years of violin and this did still come up for her at like regional orchestra auditions, graded programs, events, etc. I think it’s pretty common in the musical world. Hope it goes great!
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Thanks for the advice. That’s kind of what we were thinking of doing. I think most of the students going there are likely only applying to state schools, so they might be trying to snag the musicians from their competitors. But we probably won’t even have aid offers from the other state schools until March. It’s a rather aggressive tactic if that’s what they’re up to!
My feeling is sometimes they do this on the off chance that you’ll simply agree…or not and it frees up the money. It’s the easiest for them…so why not try? They could be trying to gauge interest. Remember this is probably music administration and NOT the teacher. If you go back to them and ask for an extenision…my guess is that they’ll give it to you (at least that’s my guess). If he has a good relationship with the teacher, he could inquite there about the extension first. The teacher may point him to administration. But teachers can sometimes assist…it all depends. Good luck!!
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I learn so much on these music major threads. I never knew too much about VP until recently attending some performances at son’s school and reading insightful posts from those in the VP world.
For classical instrumentalists, performing without a run through or at least a tempo review can be really challenging. Had to think for a moment as to why. I think instrumentalists have less ability to guide an accompanist as they cannot use their hands. I always love seeing the gentle finger gestures that vocalists use to guide…it looks like such a beautiful expression of the music. And I would guess that certain techniques on instruments are much less forgiving of even slight variation of tempo. I picture double tonguing on winds or ricochet bowing on strings. Having the accompaniment start too fast or often even worse too slowly can make the technical section completely fall apart.
This is not to worry @SweetStrings. Just me thinking aloud. Know that the professors/adjudicators know these challenges well.
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I think they should - a student who was devoted full time to music should be coming in at a different level than one who was also working on challenging academics, but if that student is willing to go the conservatory route there’s every reason to think they would progress more quickly as they would be devoting more time to music. Plus, there are advantages to having well-rounded people in the arts…
Do they not allow the performer to give some notes to the pianist right before starting? Some schools do that.
My son actually had to change his “piece of choice” for Oberlin because they didn’t use accompanists and the piece he had planned on performing doesn’t really work unaccompanied.
I didn’t mean to imply that high level HS musicians do not take challenging academics. My son and his cohorts maintained high GPAs and fairly rigorous academic schedules. Most HS musicians choose to apply to both university based programs (which demand a high academic standard) along with conservatories. Thus they need to keep up their grades, test scores and rigor. I will say many would not choose to take 10 AP classes, my son needed to also drop sports…
So to clarify, that if a talented musician happens to have a lower GPA/rigor for whatever reason, it would not affect conservatory acceptance.
Is your daughter’s Curtis audition this weekend? I’m uncertain if they do all instruments at the same time. We will be there this weekend. 
That makes more sense!
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You might also consider the teachers at each school. Has your son made a connection with any he likes? If he did at this school, then you might be all set! If not, maybe a sample lesson would be informative.
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He actually didn’t click with the professors at the school offering the scholarship. He liked the vibe at the other state schools he auditioned at better, and they are likely to offer scholarships as well. So it’s unlikely he would choose it, but a one-day impression could be inaccurate. I just hate to turn down a scholarship before we have information from the other schools.
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very common - for one of my D VP audition the piano accompanist basically played the wrong song. This was a great opportunity for my D to show how she handled tough situations. Apparently she did well and the head of the department made a comment to the accompanist to play the correct piece for the next song. She got an offer to the school. All the other auditions the accompanist was highly professional and skilled
My husband and son are set to fly from Nashville to Rochester for his Eastman audition on Thursday, but the weather looks awful and we suspect the flight might be canceled. They have to change planes in NYC. Has anyone had to deal with this situation before? Are the schools inflexible about the audition schedule?